We see all these blog posts about what to do with our time during those two weeks when the kids are out of school and you’re trying to spend that vacation time before the end of the year. We all have grand ideas about cruises and skiing and visiting family and such.

In my book, O Christmas Three, my characters did exactly that. They packed up and spent Christmas in a lovely cabin in the woods. But unfortunately, that’s not possible for people the majority of the time. We have obligations at home, kids that have things going on, or pets that need tending to, or maybe we’re just not in the financial position to go anywhere that year.

Here’s three things I do during Christmas vacation:

Changing Fate Through Reincarnation
By Gerald Sze
Publisher: Two Harbors Press
Pub. Date: November 30, 2012
ISBN: 978-1938690150 
Pages: 328

Review:

A few months ago, out of the blue, I received Changing Fate Through Reincarnation in the mail. I review many books a month from authors, publicity groups, and publishers, so occasionally I forget about agreeing to review a book, but it turns out that I didn't agree to review the book at all. I received an email from Two Harbors Press's publicity a few weeks later asking me to review the book in exchange for my honest review.

Even though I'm a Christian, I do occasionally read about other religions. Changing Fate Through Reincarnation is a mix of Buddhism, Western science and Han Chinese that the author has weaved together to help others have a more meaningful life. Have you ever heard of Karma? The basic principle is that if you’re nice to others, nice things will happen to you. The premise of the book is that a person can completely change his or hers life in the present by changing the way he or she thinks and how he or she reacts to everything and everyone.

The Book Blogger Hop meme was created by Jen from Crazy For Books and nicely let me be the guest host for this week. Read the history and rules for the meme here. 


What to do:

A Hidden Truth
By Judith Miller
Publisher: Bethany House 
Pub. Date: September 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0764210006
ASIN: B008B9HGI6
Pages: 352

Review: 

Over the years, I have become a fan of historical fiction, many involving the Amish, the Mennonites, and the Shakers, but I have never read a book about the Amana Colonies. A Hidden Truth by Judith Miller is about the Amana Colonies and is one of the reasons why I wanted to review it, courtesy of Bethany House in exchange of my honest review.

A Hidden Truth takes place in East Amana, Iowa in 1892 and centers on two women, Karlina Richter and Dovie Cates. The colonies are very strict, with no access to the outside world or the "outsiders". Karlina has lived all her life in Amana, but has always been curious of what life was like outside the colonies.

Just as her father wants to move from Ohio to Texas, Dovie Cates gets permission to visit the Amana Colonies, where her birth mother grew up. She wants to learn more about her mother's past. She stays with the Richter family.

• 5. A Christmas Story - This 1983 film is based on the short stories by Jean Shepherd (who also does the film's narration) and is played for twenty-fours straight on TBS around Christmastime. I've seen the movie probably a half dozen times before I found out that my parents had never seen the movie before. I bought it on DVD  several years ago and made them watch it. My dad didn't care for it, but mom thought it was funny. I think every kid can related to what Ralphie went through just to get that perfect gift that he dreamed of.

• 4. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - I remember going with my parents and grandparents to see Christmas Vacation at the theater back in 1989 (Just writing this makes me feel old.). It is the third film out four of the National Lampoon Vacation series and it is the best out of the sequels. It later spawned a spin-off sequel with Cousin Eddie, but it was dreadful to watch. Christmas Vacation is played to death thanks to CMT and Comedy Central. I would rather watch the unedited version on DVD. 

When my parents first got a VCR in the 1980s, my mom recorded all the Christmas animated specials, with the commercials taken out, onto one VHS tape. I would watch it every year during the holidays until a certain age when I lost interest in cartoons. As an adult, I attempted to watch these classics on basic television, but I was disappointed that some of my favorite scenes were deleted in exchange for advertisement. Over the years I have bought most of these childhood classics on DVD.

Honorable mentions that didn't make the list are: How a Grinch Stole Christmas, Bah, HumDuck!: A Looney Tunes Christmas, Pluto's Christmas Tree, and Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol. 

• 5. A Charlie Brown Christmas - This is one of the few Christmas specials that is still aired every year and is one that drove my mom crazy when I was young because she found Charlie Brown to be annoying. After forty-seven-years since it debuted, it still receives millions of viewers. It is one of the few cartoons that gives kids the real meaning of Christmas.